Area from bottom of door frame to lower longeron

[BTAZ]

The plans call for fabric between the lower door frame on down but I have heard some builders have used an aluminum panel from the door frame to the longeron instead.


What is the advantage of one or the other?

[Glenn Patterson]

On the inside we used fabric. Once the seat is in that area is mostly under the seat & sitting in the seat the legs the feet extend past the door frame. The area below the seat is sheltered by the seat. The area forward may see a little more foot wear but if the feet are on the pedals or in front of the pedals there is no wear. The area where the feet rest is ahead of the door frame. We installed an aluminum sill plate that covers the sill to also protect the inside & outside fabric corners. The sill was covered with a thin Mylar film used on cars for paint protection to take the abuse. The mylar is a vanity item to keep the paint that could be considered none essential weight. Take the opportunity to shed weight every way you can.

The old expression take care of the pennies and the dollars are looked after. This applies to weight. Take care of the ounces & the pounds will be looked after. We recently talked to Bob Barrows to arrange a cuffs. The conversation drifted to weight. Barrows said most builders put the bulk of non essential weight on with their interiors. This is not news. We went all aircraft fabric the similar to Barrows hoping to hold the weight. Barrows said he hauls goods in secured cardboard boxes & so far it has kept the interior safe.

We will be going to the airport soon to assemble our BH so we are excited to see what it weighs & hope that it is reasonable.
Glenn
BH727

[BTAZ]

What I had recalled was using AL on the outside from the door sill down.

Spoke with Mark this AM and he believed it was incorporated into the 4 place kits when introduced but never in the Patrol or LSA and he also didn't see any advantage to it.